Cultural and Religious Tourism in the Southern Shores of the Black Sea: Izmir Case Study

Cultural and religious tourism in the southern shores of the black sea: Izmir case study

Ioannis N. Matsoukas

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) in Black sea cultural studies

December 2016 Thessaloniki – Greece

Student Name: Ioannis Matsoukas

SID: 2201140003 Supervisor: Assistant Professor Georgios Aggelopoulos

I hereby declare that the work submitted is mine and that where I have made use of another’s work; I have attributed the source(s) according to the Regulations set in the Student’s Handbook.

December 2016 Thessaloniki - Greece

Abstract

This dissertation thesis was written as part of the MA in Black Sea cultural studies at the International Hellenic University.

The industry of tourism is a relatively new economic activity that its operations are already covering a large part of the globe. Cultural tourism, as a branch of tourism, is a fascinating view of combining leisure and relaxation with the interest to get to know about the culture of the place visited. The primary reason behind a cultural tourist’s travel is propelled by his genuine will for the contact with the cultural aspects of the selected location. Religious tourism is considered as cultural tourism, with the same basic mechanics behind its motives; however, enhanced spirituality is the most important part of the religious experience. Religious tourism has a lot in common with pilgrimage, but the basic difference would be the leisure and relaxation the tourist is after as well.

The city of Izmir is a destination that due to its long history has a rich and diverse cultural past. Many important civilizations like the Greek, the Roman and the Ottoman amongst others, have left their traces in the region. From ancient Forts to oriental Bazaars and from ancient temples to churches and mosques the physical traces left behind offer a great variety. In addition, all the monotheistic religions had, and still have, a strong presence in the city, and around Izmir. Based upon this long and pluralistic past, Izmir, or Smyrna as it has been known in the past, became an interesting case study to ascertain whether people choose this destination for its cultural and religious past. A special reference about the cosmopolitan, and especially the Greek, past of the city is made, as Smyrna has a special place in the Greek historical and cultural narrative.

First of all I would like to thank for his help, support, and understanding my supervisor, assistant professor Georgios Aggelopoulos. I would also like to thank my family for their heart- warming support throughout these two months. In addition my friends deserve a big thank you for their understanding. Lastly I would like to thank Chara for her unwavering support and the endless patience she showed during the completion of this project.

Ioannis Matsoukas

30/12/2016

Preface

This dissertation thesis is an original intellectual product by the author Ioannis Matsoukas.

Contents

ABSTRACT ...... III

PREFACE ...... IV

CONTENTS...... 6

1.INTRODUCTION ...... 8

1.1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM ...... 10

1.2 TOURISM OPTIONS ...... 13

1.3 AN APPROACH ON CULTURAL TOURISM ...... 14

1.4 MODERN TRADITIONAL EXPLANATION FORM ...... 16

2. KEMERALTI BAZAAR ...... 17

2.1 PAST OF THE REGION ...... 17

2.2 HISAR MOSQUE ...... 19

2.3 PRESENT OF THE REGION ...... 20

2.4 FUTURE OF THE REGION ...... 21

3. ANCIENT AGORA ...... 23

3.1 PAST OF THE MONUMENT ...... 23

3.2 PRESENT OF THE MONUMENT ...... 24

3.3 FUTURE OF THE MONUMENT ...... 26

4. IZMIR’S GREEK REMNANTS ...... 27

4.1 PAST OF THE REGION ...... 27

4.2 DEMOGRAPHICS ...... 27 4.3 GREEK IRRIDENTISM AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SMYRNA ...... 29

4.4 PRESENT OF THE REGION ...... 31

4.5 FUTURE OF THE REGION ...... 32

5. EPHESUS...... 33

5.1 PAST OF THE SITE ...... 33

5.2 PRESENT OF THE SITE ...... 36

5.3 FUTURE OF THE SITE ...... 37

6. ARTEMISION ...... 38

6.1 PAST OF THE TEMPLE ...... 38

6.2 PRESENT OF THE TEMPLE ...... 39

6.3 FUTURE OF THE TEMPLE ...... 40

7.IZMIR’S MUSEUMS ...... 41

8. KONAK SQUARE ...... 43

9. JEWISH MONUMENTS ELEVATOR - SYNAGOGUES ...... 45

10. CONCLUSIONS ...... 46

10.1 TOURISM AND CULTURAL TOURISM ...... 46

10.2 IZMIR AS A CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS DESTINATION ...... 48

10.3 SUGGESTIONS ...... 52

10.4 ROOM FOR FURTHER STUDY ...... 54

11. BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 55

12. APPENDIX ...... 59

1. Introduction

The ancient region of Ionia is considered by many classical scholars as the birth- place of the ancient Greek civilization. It was the region where the new way of thinking brought by the Greeks came into contact with cultural mentalities of local people with earlier important civilizations which had flourished and declined. This mix of ancient knowledge and logic gave birth to a new milestone in the history of mankind. This is the region where the ancient city of Smyrna was founded. The city is today called Izmir. De- spite the adversities through time, the city survived to this day. The city was built by the sea at the foothills of a defensive position of mount Pagos today known as Kadifekale. The position of the city which is overlooking the Aegean Sea and is at the end of major trade routes from inner Anatolia has been a fundamental advantage to all of the political formations, empires, kingdoms, emirates that held the city successfully under their domain. The multitude of empires and kingdoms that had possession over the city, also ensured that the cultural elements and traces that were left behind, altogether, comprise a vast cultural treasure for the modern world to enjoy, respect study and preserve. This admira- ble city with its history spanning through more than two thousand years, has caught the eye of many researchers, scholars and of course people with a keen interest in history and culture. It is a city that is visited by a lot of people every year, in order to spend leisure time in a Mediterranean climate, a very friendly environment for the tourist industry to flourish. Despite the fact that the city has a vast history, the majority of the visitors are not aware of that and they go there under the guise of mass tourism in order to enjoy the sea and the sun. The question that logically arises is how a city that attracts a high number of tourists per year only for the sake of enjoying sun sea and sand, does not take full advantage of its cultural past, in a carefully designed project to attract a continuously growing number of tourists wishing to be initiated in the cultural miracles of the area all the way of its long history. This paper will make an attempt to identify what are the primary reasons behind visiting the city of Smyrna as a cultural destination. The first step would be to become familiar with what tourism is how it evolved and more importantly, what cultural tourism is, and to familiarize with the concept of the cultural branch of the tourist industry. After this introduction, the basic methodology that was used, includes the identification of some of the major landmarks of the city, a brief history of each one of them, and finally what are the major strengths and weaknesses of each monument that make it attractive or not, hence affecting a tourist’s decision to visit them or not. The focus of these strengths and weaknesses are solely their cultural and religious background and whether it is properly employed to target and attract potential tourists. In the same context, the major theories on cultural tourism are used to allow a deeper analysis for each monument as well. The reason behind this division in the paper is that the attraction of historic places is maybe the most common motivation for tourists to visit a potential tourist location. There is no attempt, of course, to disregard other motives, but in the sense of the globalized societies of the modern world, it made more sense to focus on the historic sites, which, after all, manifest the glorious past of each civilization. The result is a structured analysis that al- lows answering the questions of this paper adequately when the cultural and religious parameters are taken into account. Of course there are other parameters, like the fledgling economy of Turkey, the unstable political environment of the Turkish Republic, and the implementation of proper policies for gradual growth of the tourist industry, that could be used to add more depth to the analysis of the cultural tourism in the region and enrich the answers in the questions of this paper, but that would risk the cohesion of the study and could shift the weight from the cultural focus to other focal points. After all, the purpose is to study the cultural nature of the city and not to introduce ever shifting parameters into the mix.

In the final part of this effort, after a small recapitulation of the cultural tourism concepts, the results of the analysis of how the monuments of Smyrna do, as cultural and religious destinations are presented. The presentations of the results are following the main axis of the paper, and are also divided by monument. It seemed proper to include a small passage in the text to propose guidelines in order to attend the areas that have issues, and to assist the cultural and religious tourism industry to grow. In the room of further study section of the paper an alternative focus has been proposed in order to quanti- fy results.

1.1 The Development of Tourism

The phenomenon of tourism is not a modern one. On the contrary, tourism can be traced back in time as far as the ancient Egypt. There are written sources that inform us about the visits of the Pharaohs to the already ancients to them monuments of the Pyra- mids and the Sphinx in Giza. Of course it is obvious that the powerful leaders of Egypt would not travel such a journey without their royal escorts needed to provide all the luxurious amenities that can travel alongside. In a similar sense, the voyages of Herodotus in a great part of the ancient world for research have patterns that bear resemblance to that of a tourist. In the Roman times the infrastructure built by the empire facilitated travelling to even greater distances. The rich of the era would travel great many miles to visit Egypt or Greece during the summer months. The public baths, built as health institutions, evolved to tourist attractions for relaxation and entertainment (Ueli, 2010).

The collapse of the Roman Empire led to an isolation of societies and limited travelling for leisure. The medieval societies had a different view of what travel is. The move between cities or kingdoms became an adventure, a self-awareness experience to the most common travellers of the era like merchants and students. This travel resembled to a rite of passage, especially for students and craftsmen. The end of their journey was supposed to find them as more mature and capable to face the adversities of life (Ueli, 2010).

It is obvious that medieval travel had very few common elements with what can be called tourism. This idea of a rite of passage though, was used by the nobility as well, and in the centuries that followed the medieval era these trips gradually became less and less dangerous and a good chance for leisure and entertainment by the young members of the nobility. The Italian cities of the renaissance became the primary sites for visit, with the major urban centers of the west being heavily visited as well. Of course the members of aristocracy retained an elitism meaning that the people that came to contact with were almost solely of the same class (Ueli, 2010).

During the Enlightenment era, the rise of the bourgeoisie and the decline of the nobility transformed the leisure travel. Due to the economic rise of the middle class leisure travel became available to members of the society that were not part of the aristocracy, though for a long time leisure travel betrayed a social status and the bourgeoisie tried to mimic the habits of the nobles. The educational travels became common to the intellectu- als of the time. These travels also contributed to shape the form of tourism, as it is recognized as a prominent step in its development. Other types of travel emerged as well, with business travel becoming more and more frequent. Traders and industrialists would travel to get in touch with new business prospects or to acquire knowledge and experience on new methods of production. As the leisure travel became more and more accessible to the non-nobles, the nobility tried to separate themselves, by finding new places to spend their leisure time away from the rest of the world. More exclusive centers of tourism emerged throughout Europe like spa centers and casinos (Ueli, 2010).

Modern tourism started taking its form with a phase that started in the middle of the 19th century and lasted until after the end of World War II. The reasons for this rapid change and the demand for a solid base where upon the industry of tourism would be built, were numerous and diverse. Amongst the most important, were the Fordism era (massive industrial production at low cost in production chains) with the rise in real income and the enactment of labor rights, and also the increase in urbanization and the increase in the number of the population in the western world. Adding to the previous, the successive breakthroughs in the technology field, with the steam engine becoming part of almost every moving vehicle made transportation not just only easier, but also available to more people. The railway networks soon covered a great deal of the European continent, making access to previously more remote areas very easy. What is also worth mentioning is the appearance of guidebooks containing information on locations of what is considered as worth seeing and also provided guidance of how should such a visit proceed. These texts could be considered as early forms of travel guides and accelerated developments in the form of tourism by setting examples. The works Briefe über die Schweiz and Handbuch für Reisende durch die Schweiz of Professor Christopher Meiners and Heinrich Heidegger respectively are very important as each of them sets such an example. Another important step was the wide spread of such texts. On that direction, the emergence of publishing houses which aim at covering the need for such handbooks, assisted in making these travel books popular (Ueli, 2010).

Another important innovation in the growth of the profitability of tourism was the idea of organized group holidays by English entrepreneur Thomas Cook. Cook introduced the idea of all inclusive holiday packs with the customer not spending more money, than the sum given to the trip organizer. Though his motives were socio political, as he tried to help the working class people to escape from their daily misery of work and alcoholism, the impact of this policy was more successful on the middle class. His influence was greater than the most optimistic expectations, as he can be considered as the father of travel agencies. Soon his example was followed by analogous tour operating schemes in other European countries (Ueli, 2010).

The situation in tourism changed irrefutably around the turn of the 19th century. The states start to institutionalize holidays. In many cases, the holidays were reserved only for civil servants, but by the middle of the 20th century it had spread almost to the whole of the European societies. Consequently it became possible for large parts of the society to acquire access to relaxation travelling; something that previously was reserved only for the nobles and the rich. What should be noted as very interesting is the fact that even the totalitarian Nazi regime of Germany tried to exploit the rising trend of tourism, even by establishing an institutionalized state-controlled organization (KDF, Kraft durch freude) and a ministry responsible for the relaxation of the people. This organization was responsible for making tourism activities available to all social classes of the German peoples while promoting the Nazi ideas. The fact that the leisure activities prices were kept very low on purpose resulted in an exponential growth of the tourism industry in Nazi Germany (Ueli, 2010). In the post-war period up to our days, there is a noticeable change in the tourism economic activities. First of all, tourism is clearly transformed into an industry, an economic activity with the purpose of generating wealth which contributes to growth. It is also becoming more and more structured and constructed in a proper manner to meet certain high standards. Whole regions of the globe are becoming vacation areas, with the overall economic activities revolving around tourism. Some countries base their economic growth and prosperity solely on the tourism industry. What should not be overlooked is the fact that the basic factors that help the growth and maintenance of such a business are present and improving from the early 1950ies and the 1960ies. The prolonged peace in Eu- rope after WW2 allowed social reformations and economic growth to take root in the continent, thus allowing even greater parts of the societies to acquire access to the tourism industry and to benefit from it, like pensioners and city workers (Ueli, 2010).

One very interesting development in the tourism industry is the fact that artificial vacation areas are created based on theme parks, or constructed summer destinations in apparently useless and inhospitable areas. The Disneyland or the more recent artificial islands of Dubai respectively, are such examples. These new destinations seem to be gaining ground from the more traditional picks and should be studied extensively to determine whether they could spawn a different kind of vacation or if they could adversely affect the visit ability of the more traditional tourist destinations (Ueli, 2010).

1.2 Tourism Options

Tourism as an industry can be divided into two main groups: the conventional or mass tourism, which currently covers the biggest part of tourism activities and includes mainly leisure type of vacations, and the alternative tourism which branches out into sev- eral sub categories. The conventional tourism focuses mainly on relaxation and social activities which can be unconventionally described by the four S, Sea, Sand, Sun, and Sex (Csapó, J. & Matesz, 2012). The alternative tourism branch is divided into five sub-groups namely, cultural, educational, scientific, adventure and agro-tourism (Mieczkowski, 1995). For the purposes of this paper, the focus will be solely on cultural and religious tourism.

1.3 An approach on Cultural Tourism

Cultural tourism is a term that uses the notion of culture in order to define a modern form of tourist experience. This term has multiple meanings in manifold socio-political contexts. It is beyond the scope of our analysis to offer an overview of the multiple perceptions and uses of the term culture. In any case, a possible over-generalizing definition for cultural tourism would make references to the movement of people for purposes of leisure and relaxation. By combining the two terms (“culture” and “Tourism”) we could reach the term of cultural tourism as the travel for leisure fueled by the desire to come into contact with cultural aspects of a certain group of people that share a common culture. A more specific definition would be the one coming from the International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism stating that cultural tourism can be defined as that activity which enables people to experience the different ways of life of other people, thereby gaining at first hand an understanding of their customs, traditions, the physical environment, the intellectual ideas and those places of architectural, historic, archaeological or other cultural significance which remain from earlier times. Cultural tourism differs from recrea- tional tourism in that it seeks to gain an understanding or appreciation of the nature of the place being visited ( ICOMOS, charter for cultural tourism, Draft April 1997). Cultural tourism, according to some scholars, is also divided into sub groups, which are defined by the experience that the cultural tourist wants to dwell into. The types of cultural tourism vary a lot, but each type of cultural tourism does not exclude the other, and by combining all the types the experience could be more than rich. The categories are the following: Herit- age Tourism, Cultural thematic routes, Cultural city tourism, Ethnic Tourism, Event and Festival Tourism, Religious Tourism and Creative Tourism (Csapó, & Matesz, 2012). In the case study of Izmir and its monuments, the type of cultural tourism is better described as the cultural city tourism, with the other types emerging according to each monument. As far as the cultural city tourism is concerned, based on the scientific results of the World Tourism Organization and the European Travel Commission joint project per- formed in 2005 the locations could be classified into six clusters according to the distinct characteristics of each one of them. The characteristics can be described along with the density and the size of the population of each location. The bigger the location, the more the cultural aspects that are present in each place (Csapo, 2012). In that sense, the city of Izmir would probably belong to the 4th or 5th group, with heritage elements and art being prominent in the city and with the possibility of creative industries being present. Of course the other types of tourism are present as well in the city of Izmir. For example, a city with the vast history of Izmir contains a great amount of monuments of historical and architectural value, an excellent example of heritage culture worth visiting. From the point of view of history and art, the archaeological site of Ephesus is not just an interesting location, but a place of great importance for the whole mankind. Ethnic tourism is also very much available in Izmir as well, especially in root tourism. Root tourism concerns genealo- gy and tracing ones roots in a place. A cosmopolitan city like Izmir, in the turn of the previous century had a very diverse population. After the Lausanne treaty a great part of them had to leave. As a result of these events, Izmir attracts tourists in search of their ancestral homes. A very good example is the Greeks that visit the city where their forefathers lived. Religious tourism is another type of cultural tourism that brings tourists in the city of Smyrna. In connection with ethnic tourism, there are many holy sites for Christians and for Jews present in the city and they project as a very good reason for pilgrims to visit the city. As already stated above, tourism can be divided in different sub groups according to what each group offers. In that sense, each group is tied to the economic activity it represents. In the modern world of growing economies, the importance shifts on the quality of the service that is given and how it is different from a similar one. That could also be reflected on the fact that the “product” that is for sale is frequently innovated and becoming more and more attractive for tourists to visit. In the structural approach of innovating tourism for example the layers of innovation are divided according to the simplicity or complexity of the services offered and the factor whether the tourist is relying on the tourist operator for his activities (Decelle, 2004). Still cultural tourism offers a unique experience where the quality of the service is not under constant scrutiny, due to the nature of the experience. Of course the effects of cultural tourism should also be taken into consideration. On the cultural level, it could be said that it strengthens the regional culture and traditions. On the economic level the tourist season can be extended to reach a yearly level, leading to a sustainable tourism. This type of tourism offers jobs and growth to the area and al- lows local people to reap the positive results. On the other hand, it could be said that the commoditization of culture could lead to a weaker link between culture and the locals. The economic growth could also have adverse results on the environment unless certain precautions are taken for its protection (Csapo, 2012).

1.4 Modern-traditional explanation form

Cities worldwide that have a long history, with their existence spanning for thousands of years usually attract high levels of tourism as well. Examples like Rome or Athens show that it is very important for a city aiming to become a tourist attraction zone, to have a long history with an impressive cultural background. Monuments like the Acropolis of Athens, or the Coliseum and the Pantheon in Rome, are instantly recognized all over the world and the cultural heritage that these places have to offer to the world are enormous. The question that rises, though, is how these structures of global recognition are able to connect with the modern urban landscape of major capital cities like the two that have already been mentioned. The answer could be, poorly, especially in Athens where the city grew exponentially in the last forty years without any distinguishable planning. The lack of planning, led to a condition where the cultural elements of the city have created “nests” scattered around the urban landscape, and with the elements of modernity becoming more prominent, with neon light signs and modern additions everywhere and especially on buildings of cultural significance.

On the other hand there are cities like Kyoto in Japan or Muscat in Oman, where different approaches have been made to attempt to fuse the old and the new. For example while most of the Arab states like Dubai or Qatar have chosen to westernize their trade areas by building malls, the Omani capital is trying to fuse elements of western culture and refurbish their trade areas called Souk in Arabic. In that way a balance is attained and the cultural heritage of the Arab civilization survives without decaying (Gutman, 2014). Another interesting approach of successful mixing of past and present is the city of Kyoto, the medieval capital of the Japanese empire. The city has many temples, ancient castles, palaces, and gardens all strong cultural and historical elements. The other factor that adds value to the cultural character of the city is the calligraphic ideograms of the Japanese language scattered all over Kyoto. The calligraphy changes the landscape and is properly adapted to fit each different occasion. For example, the calligraphy near the historical monuments differs in relation to calligraphy adopted as a street art (Zhang, Shao Jing, Hong Lei, &Guoqing, 2013). The fusion of modern and traditional seems so smooth, that is almost indiscernible. This fusion also acts as a tourist attraction, and the immersion in the experience is considered to be higher in a location that does not gives reminiscence of the modern everyday life of the tourist, increasing the authenticity of the city.

Izmir is also a modern city of the western world with a rich and vast history and for that it would be very interesting to see if the fusion between the old and the new is achieved even partially and whether there is a possibility to change that if and when it would be considered necessary. The monuments described underneath will try to shed light towards that direction and to give, hopefully, a satisfactory answer to this question.

2. KEMERALTI BAZAAR

2.1 Past of the Region

The kemeralti Bazaar cannot be considered as a single monument, as it covers a great part of the city center. It can be described rather as a district, than as an enclosed market. It is situated in the historical city center of modern day Izmir. The ancient agora is right next to it, on the east, placing the ancient and the modern trade centers side by side. This is an important element that shows that the activity of man in Izmir covers thousands of years. The Bazaar can be classified as an Ottoman monument and was probably constructed sometime after the middle of the 17th century. As the name surely points out the structure served as the central market of the city. The Bazaar slowly grew towards the sea with the filling of the inner bay of Izmir taking the place of the harbor installations. The process of the filling of the bay was gradual during a period of about two hundred years, spanning through the 18th and 19th century to the final coast line of the city nowadays. (Egercioglu, 2016) The Kemeralti Bazaar encompasses the Bergama covered bazaar, an Ottoman monument of the classical period and a typical example of Ottoman architecture. Another noteworthy structure of the Bazaar is the Kizlaragasi Inn, a structure where the caravans that reached the city would stay for the time needed for trade and rest. The structure itself stands out as a very unique example of architecture with a rectangular lay- out, built around 1750. One of the most prominent structures is the Caravanserai, built during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent by the architect Omer Pabuccu (İzmir Kent Portalı, n.d.). The construction of the Bazaar surely became an important part of the economic rise that Izmir came to experience in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century. The testimonies of travellers from the west during the 19th century give a very colorful description of the bazaar area, emphasizing on the eastern character of the market. Such observations vary from the goods that are for sale like milk products, fish and dried meat, to the striking absence of alcoholic beverages of any kind. Equally colorful are the description of caravans reaching the market with camels, filling the busy and narrow market streets. The western travellers did not fail to give a description of the merchants, from benign, no ill- intentioned merchants who offered quality products to the typical smoking and drinking coffee, lazy ones who could hardly be considered as trustworthy for an honest deal (Tasci, Ozden, Davras, Akkurt, 2015). What could be emphasized on the above, are the presence of traces of the orientalism theory. As Edward Said states orientalism is a term the west invented in order to both characterize the east as its contrasting image to the west, and to reinvent the west itself not only as its opposite but as an entity that contains many elements of the east, like its cultures, that helped build the west (Said, 1979). The construction of additional piers to serve the trade in the area led to a decline of the Bazaar area due to the shift of trade interest in the port area. The non-Muslim traders, mostly westerners and Greeks, abandoned the Kemeralti Bazaar moving to more profitable shops closer to the harbor, while the empty shops were gradually taken over by Turkish traders. The decline continued until the great fire of 1922 and the consequent destruction of half of the city after the evacuation of the Greek army from the Smyrna area during the Greco- Turkish war that led to the formation of the Republic of Turkey. After the reconstruction of the city the Kemeralti Bazaar became the main trading area once again.

2.2 Hisar Mosque In addition to the trading facilities the Bazaar has an adequate number of religious buildings as well. It is quite natural that the beating heart of the city, with a great number of people coming and going for a considerable amount of time, would have a center of worship at least for the ruling Muslim class. In terms of mosques, the Hisar mosque is the most prominent and important religious construct in the district. There are many theories regarding the origin of the name of the mosque, but it is impossible to answer it with ab- solute certainty. The more widely accepted explanation is the location of the building itself. The spot where the mosque stands thrives with history, as the name of the mosque is the only thing that indicates the presence of the crusaders (The Knights of Rhodes) in the city for at least 60 years. The fortress of San Pietro was standing in the position of the Hisar mosque until the Timurid’s invasion and the sacking of the city in 1402 (Vertot, 1818). Hisar is the Turkish word for fortress, so the memory of the fort was passed on through the name. The Mosque was built during the last decade of the 16th century on or- ders by the Bey of the region Aydinoglu Yakup. As the mosque is the oldest one in the city, it would be normal to attract pilgrims and tourists in the area. An interesting notice is the fact that the building contains materials taken from ancient structures that were present in the area. Architecturally, it is a typical Ottoman mosque of that period but still quite big in order to catch the eye and built in such a way to be worthy of a Sultan. The building sustained massive damage in the earthquake of 1813 but was rebuilt. The devout Muslim with the disposable income to visit Izmir for religious tourism would surely not miss the opportunity to visit such a historic place. A recent work Egresi, Bayram, Kara and Kesik , (2012) searching the potential religious tourism in turkey revealed that Turkey’s foreign tourists that visit the country for purely religious reasons are only 1% of the tourists in total. This certainly comes as a negative surprise in regions like Izmir, where three different monotheistic religions have left their marks, yet they have such limited religious attraction. The infrastructure of the country in terms of accessibility of religious monuments should take the blame for the low figures of religious tourism. Small airports and bad roads do not exactly facilitate the interested likely visitors in accessing such places. The fact that many religious non-Muslim locations have been turned into cultural centers re- duces the willingness of pious Non-Muslims spiritual pilgrimages as these holy places have lost their religious importance. A synagogue or a Church that has been converted to a museum would not possess the same qualities as an active religious place (Egresi et al. 2012).

2.3 Present of the region

In the present day all the old buildings of the region are in a state of a slow but nonetheless steady decay. The whole of the noteworthy buildings of the region are actually in use, with very few exceptions of monuments that have been converted to cultural centers or tourist attractions and are being taken care off. The rest of the district is a busy center of trade, with numerous small businesses. The big threat the spirit of the district faces, is the fact that the human activity in the area has affected the homogeneity and the historical “feeling” of the area (Egercioglu, 2016). The construction of new buildings, the use of kitsch shop signs, the abandonment of historical buildings which are left to become ruins, are some of the most notable problems that unfortunately add to the steady decay and deterioration of one of the most visited areas of Izmir. It is obvious that unless a carefully designed architectural intervention to reconcile the modern with the traditional structures, eliminating or smoothing out annoying discrepancies is drawn as soon as possible, the most important element of the district i.e.its originality will be irreversibly lost. As far as the tourism industry is concerned it will not be long before the area would have nothing unique to offer to the visitor thus the area of Kemeralti will relegate to a less attractive level, with a concomitant decline in visibility. Even if the theory described by Erik Cohen (1983) is accepted as applicable in the case of Kemeralti district i.e., that in order to become more accessible to tourists, a tourist attraction slowly degrades into a commodity thus changing and losing its originality, the deterioration of the Kemeratli district, if left unchecked, will lead to the loss of any trace of originality and uniqueness, becoming a simple business and trade area. A different opinion could be that even if the district loses the features that make it unique, it will still act as a magnet for tourists that do not pay much attention to such “details” and expect to come in contact with a cultural product having as a primary function to look like the unique and authentic experience, not be one. Under such a prism, the invasion of the modern world in a historical environment is something to be expected and shouldn’t be given that attention. On the other hand, the market of cultural tourists that expect to find something as close as possible to the original sense of the eastern market would surely be disappointed when they come in contact with an environment not only with dominant modern features, but also deprived of any traces of its originality which have been left to ruin or even worse have become completely absent. Steps have been taken by the Izmir metropolitan authorities, to start improving the environment of the district, and the conversion of Caravanserai and Kizlaragasi Inn to cultural centers and tourist centers, getting them under the aegis of the city authorities, eliminat- ed the possibility of abandonment or the risk of alteration to the character of each structure. Moreover, the structures become beacons of the history of the area, reinforcing the cultural ties of the region with its past. However unless this approach covers the whole area the results will not be the desired ones (Egercioglu, 2016).

2.4 Future of the region

Planning to help this specific city district to resist successfully to the modernity invasion, the City authorities have decided to go on with a long term conservation program in order to reverse the effects of modernization in this historical district and to protect it from further disruptions. The authorities went on after securing the commitment of the traders association in the region for collaboration in an elaborate conservation project. The project could not have survived and become sustainable without the collaboration between the officials of the city and the people that live and work in the region. The axes that the project moves on are longevity and sustainability. The collaboration with the traders association in the region ensured that the implementation of the planning will proceed in accordance to the wishes of the local society. At the same time, one of the goals to be achieved is the improvement of the condition of the buildings either by clean- ing or removing additions that do not fit in the market district aiming at more tourism. At the beginning of the project, additional funds were allocated to empower the local economy that is based mainly on the tourism industry. It was also very important to speak out the perception of how important the historical buildings are, convincing everybody in the local society to share this perception in common and maximizing the participation in the conservation project. Thus, they help in safeguarding the results of the project and ensure its continuity (Egercioglu, 2016).

The city authorities have understood well how the proper management of the historical buildings in Kemeralti can enhance the tourist experience and how they can be used to enhance the tourist gaze as well. The promotion of tourism in the kemeralti bazaar area could be greatly enhanced by enhancing images of an eastern market not touched by progress. This will make the district an authentic and unique destination, which would not be ignored easily by the tourist who is on a quest for the authentic (Bajc, 2011). By making the experience unique, the tourist is also allowed more easily to detach himself from the everyday life, to stand on the threshold of finding himself, and when he is reintegrated into his routine, the experience would have left its mark upon him (Galani-Moutafi, 1995). It is true that there has been a great improvement in the overall impression offered to the visitors and that the relations between the local society and the authorities have already a positive effect in the area, but this cooperation must obtain permanent characteristics in order to avoid regression to the old habits which will undermine the project. The facades of the buildings have been cleaned up and the construction of new buildings in the district is banned. The shop signs that affected the architectural structure of the buildings have been removed and they were replaced by other signs, more appropriate to the ambience of the area. Great steps have been taken in order to increase security in the area. The great density of the population in the area calls urgently for the creation of squares and parks. These open spaces are absolutely necessary so that the stifling atmosphere of the narrow corridors of the bazaar can be vented. The improvements attained up to now have already led to an increase of visitors and tourists in the area, with benefits to the local economy and consequently to the society already perceptible and with projections showing further increase under normal socioeconomic conditions. The preliminary results of the conservation project show that the authorities have taken very seriously the fact that the more the authentic experience which is offered in the region, the more tourists arrive, the more money are invested in the area allowing a sustainability in the project, that pro- ceeding as planned, could finally become self-sustained (Egercioglu, 2016). Under the tourist gaze, it can also be said that the tourist industry had its effect upon the social relations amongst the groups concerned in the area. The authorities of the city and the pro- fessionals of tourism, by making the people that work and live in the area to work towards producing a specific tourist experience, helps the experience become more original and authentic and finally more extraordinary and memorable (Bajc, Vida, 2011).

3. ANCIENT AGORA

3.1 Past of the monument

The ancient agora of Smyrna is an archaeological complex located in the city center of the modern city of Izmir. As already mentioned above, is very close to the Kemeralti bazaar, a busy hub of trading activity up till now. The continuation of trade in the region can be proved just by looking the ancient and the Ottoman markets. Izmir was not always one of the most important cities in the region. The settlement was found somewhere between 3000 B.C and 2500 B.C, as witnessed by Hittite and Trojan cultural elements which have left left their traces in the region especially in the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. These traces are reliefs that date back to the Hittite age depicting the mother Goddess and the Hittite king Tudhaliya (Akurgal, 1970).

The Greek presence in the region for the first time happened in the 10th century B.C when it is estimated that the first Greek settlement was established. The presence of the Greek culture is continuous, until the Lydian invasion of king Alyates and the utter destruction of this settlement. Though the city was repopulated and repaired, its growth was very slow and the settlement remained insignificant until the Hellenistic and the Roman period. After Alexander the Great conquered the east and turned most of Asia as an inte- gral part of the Greek world, the city was re-found and a new era of prosperity begun. The new city in the slopes of mount Pagos quickly grew and during the 1st century B.C, as Stra- bo informs us, was filled with magnificent temples, heroons gymnasiums and the agora. Last but not least, perfect stone paved roads made the city even more beautiful. A noteworthy fact was that the heroon of Smyrna was dedicated to Homer, a deified version of the poet, as the city proudly claimed that the great poet had been born in Smyrna (Akurgal, 1970).

The ancient agora was excavated for the first time by Rudolph Naumann and Sala- hattin Kantar in the 1930ies under the aegis of the general directorate of museums and the Turkish historical society (Ersoy, 2016). The state of the agora can be described as well preserved. The courtyard covers an impressive area of 9.6 square kilometers with two stoai on the eastern and the western end. Each stoa had two floors and was 17.5 meters in width. Both stoai were filled with shops. An even bigger stoa was on the north side of the agora. It measured 28 meters in width, bigger than the two stoai on the sides. The north- ern stoa was also filled with shops. All of the stoai were divided in three aisles by colon- nades. The southern stoa has not been excavated yet. In the middle of the courtyard an altar dedicated to Zeus was present while Reliefs of Poseidon and Demeter that were found during the excavation are related to the altar. The presence of Poseidon, the ruler of the seas and Demeter the goddess of harvest and the earth, is a testament that the in- habitants of Smyrna believed that their city held dominion over trade both on land and on sea (Akurgal, 1970).

3.2 Present of the monument

The agora is one of the most visited ancient monuments of the city thanks to its proximity to the city center. It is also one of the first monuments that a newcomer in the city would come across, especially if he arrives from the sea. The site covers a great part of the city center and is open to visitors for a relatively small fee, though the excavations are still in progress. Actually the excavations were accelerated after 2000 under the project “Saving, Improving and Reviving the Agora and its Surroundings” (Ersoy, 2016). The new aspect of the project was the mandatory demolition of buildings covering ancient ruins in and around the ancient agora. The buildings that blocked the view around the ancient agora could be also considered as demolition candidates. The unearthed parts of the monument have been under constant preservation and restoration as soon as they are available to the specialists to improve the condition of the structure and to reveal more archaeological secrets (Ersoy, 2016). In this condition the site could attract academic tourism, scholars who desire to find out about any new fascinating findings in the current excavation. Of course this type of tourism would also include under-graduate students of academic institutions on any Erasmus program available in one of the universities of the city of Izmir (Rodriguez, Martinez-Roget, Pawlowska, 2013). A good example would be an under- graduate student of History and Archaeology on an Erasmus program moving to Izmir to study the monuments of the city. Of course this could possibly mean that every region that holds the same cultural potential and has a higher education institution in its vicinity is theoritically a good destination for academic tourism, a claim that seems to be extreme. The most usual cultural tourist would probably be the visitor of the region for its rich historical background, who wants to come into contact, even superficially as most of the tourists do, with the history and culture of the place. Such a conclusion though could be characterized as rush and it would be better to identify the qualities of the cultural tourist first. As already mentioned, the cultural tourist is somebody who travels for leisure and relaxation while picking a destination according to the desire to come into contact with cultural aspects of a certain civilization. According to McKercher and Du Cros (2002), both active scholars in the field of cultural tourism, there are five different types of cultural tourists, according to how deep or shallow the cultural experience is, and whether the tourist is fueled partially fully or not at all, by the desire to experience the cultural elements of his destination (Csapo, Janos, 2012). If the parameters aforementioned are applied, the cultural tourism experience becomes a very complex situation where it is very difficult to discern what kind of cultural tourist would visit the ancient agora of Izmir. This theory could better be applied to a region where a multitude of sites would make it more discernible to identify the category of a cultural tourist. Additionally the absence of cultural interaction between the tourist and the site of the agora makes the experience more limited as the tourist is just visiting the area and cannot experience the detachment from the modern way of life and the creation of a separate intense experience (Gisolf, 2013). As far as the authenticity of the experience is concerned, the ancient agora offers the uniqueness of a 2000 years old site, something that only a few sites on earth can rightfully claim to possess. It appears to be very difficult to make a commodity out of such a place in order to reduce its authenticity, both as a site and as the experience of visiting such a site (Cohen, 1988). The commercialization of archaeological sites can hardly lead to the commoditization of such places.

3.3 Future of the monument

The future of the ancient agora of Izmir is mainly connected with the integration of the excavation. While a major part of the agora has been unearthed, the southern side and a section of the eastern side of the courtyard are still under the soil. It is also very interesting that new finds are dug out, from time to time, even in areas that have already been largely excavated. Of course the monument on its own does not seem capable to become the primary reason behind a cultural tourist’s decision to visit Izmir. As long as the project of preservation and restoration of the area around the ancient agora keeps on being supported by both the central government and the local authorities, it is certain that the site will gradually attract the majority of the cultural tourists of Izmir. On the other hand, as long as the excavation process is still in progress the forbidden for the public zones, and other obstacles that may appear, (halting the excavation for various reasons) can hinder the process of making the ancient agora fully accesible as a tourist attraction. It is also questionable whether the archaeological site can blend in with the rest of the city with proper transition areas. In case this will not be materialized successfully, the ancient agora would probably remain a fenced area, giving the feeling of something detached from the rest of the cultural treasures of the city.

4. IZMIR’S GREEK REMNANTS

4.1 Past of the region

Izmir or Smyrna, as the Greeks call it, possesses a significant importance to the history and the collective memory of the Greeks. The city itself had been tied to the Greek history as well with the first Greek presence in the area confirmed in the 9th century B.C during the Greek colonization of the Aegean islands and the Asia Minor coast. Through the middle ages, the city lost its Greek identity only to find a part of it during the 17th, 18th and 19th century in a cosmopolitan mix of Muslims, Jews, Armenians, Greeks and Western Eu- ropeans. This cosmopolitanism was the result of the economic growth of the city during these three centuries (Tasci, et al, 2015). However each different ethnic group of the city had settled in its own quarter. In that sense, the Greek part of the population had its own “zone” or quarter, the Turkish, Armenian and Jewish their own, and a final zone was popu- lated by Westerners or Levantines/Franks that were living in their separate zone as well. The lack of diversification on the housing of the population, can be observed and used as a counter argument that the cosmopolitanism that Izmir boasted to have grown, was not a real one and that each ethnic Group preferred their own people. While the social interac- tions between Orthodox/Catholic Christians and Muslims were quite limited, the West- erners and the Orthodox developed close social relations to the point of mixing of the ethnic groups through relatively often intermarriages. The Levantine and the Greek quarters were side by side, and the Greek side often adopted a lot of the westerners’ everyday life habits and customs. It should also be noted that the upper merchant class were mainly composed by these two social and ethnic groups (Dardalis, 2009).

4.2 Demographics

In this part of the paper a need for specific numbers emerged to add further validi- ty and weight to the rise of the Greek population in Smyrna. In addition to the size of the city the importance of Smyrna grew as well both for the Ottoman Empire and for the Greeks, not only those living in the city but also for outside Greeks as well. As far as precise numbers regarding the population during the rapid growth of Smyrna in the, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries are concerned there are almost no official data available. The Ot- toman Empire was not used in taking census and making records of statistics regarding the population, unlike the Romans. In this case, the only data that are available are from travellers of the era, scientific products like the work of Slaars (1868), data from consulates of the area and the Patriarchate of Constantinople (Lampsidis, 2009). In order to study this aspect of the Greek community the numbers that have be used come from the work of Lampsidis (2009), on the economy of Smyrna after 1870. In the 17th century the vast majority of the population were Muslim Turks with all the other ethnic groups summing up to a meager 25% of the total. The situation remains more or less the same during the whole century. The Greeks are present, and their numbers are on the rise but not at a noteworthy rate. These migrants arrive to Smyrna mainly from the Aegean islands and the Pelo- ponnese. The 18th century finds the Greeks becoming double in size. After the Russo- Ottoman treaty of kucuk Kainardji in 1774, the Christians of the Ottoman Empire acquire trade liberties that allow them to become very successful merchants. The Greeks, of course, took advantage of the situation and the port of Smyrna, the most important port of the region became an ideal place to practice trade. Near the end of the 18th century the numbers of the Greek community had increased up to 30.000 people, close to the ¼ of the total population of the city. The Muslim Turks still made up at least the 2/3rds of the total population in Smyrna. In the 19th century, the numbers of the Greeks continued to rise slowly and at the eve of the Greek independence war, there are reports that give even up to 60.000 Greeks living in the city in a total of 150.000. The numbers probably are deliberately exaggerated, as travellers confirm. During the Greek war of independence, the numbers of the Greeks in the city were considerably lower, close to 15.000. This could be due to the actual hostility that the Ottomans could have shown to the Greeks in the area, and the fear of retaliatory practices by the Ottomans against members of the Greek community. After the end of the war, Smyrna continued to grow and prosper and so did the numbers of the Greeks in the city. Until the middle of the century the numbers fluctuated from 23.000 to 60.000 something that clearly shows a trend of the Greek population far quick rising. The Tanzimat reforms that lasted almost 40 years from 1839, until 1876, a policy that attempted to give equal rights to all the subjects of the empire had a positive effect in the migratory waves of Greeks towards Smyrna (Roderick, 1990). In the second half of the 19th century, the numbers of the Greeks surpass for the first time the number of the Mus- lims and during the last decade the number approaches a six digit figure. High six digit figures would remain for the Greek population until the Asia Minor Disaster for the Greeks and the compulsory population exchange after the Lausanne treaty.

4.3 Greek irredentism and importance of Smyrna

The ethnic identity, if we take into account Benedict Anderson’s theory (1983), is something constructed. During the process of creating such an identity, the decision mak- er deliberately chooses to include and exclude what is “us” and what is the “other”. In the case of the Greek identity it can be hypothesized that it was constructed at the expense of the ruling state at the time of the Ottoman Empire. The Greek identity was also assisted by the fact that the religious leader of the orthodox faith was elected by the Greeks and not chosen by the Imperial will. In that sense, the Greeks kept a degree of coherence through the centuries until the war of independence in 1821. The creation of the first Greek inde- pendent state in 1830, left a lot of people who identified themselves as Greeks in identity, still living in the lands of the Ottoman Empire. The Greek irredentism was gradually born to serve the nation with the goal to annex all those lands of the Ottoman Empire, where Greek populations were living as “slaves”.

Smyrna, as it has already been established, was such a location, which gradually, due to the success of the Greek community there, occupied a special place in the Greek irredentism. The continued success in trade had given the Greek business owners and traders an edge over any potential contesters. The rise of the Turkish Nationalism was the main factor behind the collapse of Greek irredentism at the region of Smyrna with the effects that it spawned.

Smyrna was also considered an important cultural center for the Greeks living on both sides of the Aegean Sea. The founding of the Evangelical School of Smyrna as early as the 18th century is a proof of the strong ties of the city with the Greek Culture. The creation of small Greek schools around the Smyrna area under the care of the church authorities was the next step in the 19th century. This trend that continued in the 20th century was halted abruptly due to the Turkish nationalism expansion. Great poets and writers of the Greek literature like Georgios Seferis were born in Smyrna (Stamatopoulou, 2011).

Another important cultural aspect of the Greeks of Smyrna was the production of music. The Greeks of Smyrna were very outgoing and they enjoyed music. They were also very sociable people and the multitude of cultures and people living in Smyrna allowed interaction with many different ethnic groups. The mixing of so many different ethnic groups gave birth to the folk music of Smyrna. This specific music type became known to a big part of the Mediterranean through traveling musicians. In the epicenter of the music idiom of Smyrna is the beauty and the strong character of the Smyrnean woman. Smyrna’s music production was even greater than the production of music in mainland Greece (Stamatopoulou, 2011).

Theater is considered as a high expression of culture, and for the Greeks of Smyrna it was only natural to practice it as well. The close relation with the westerners brought the Greeks of Smyrna close to the theatrical tradition of the west. The variety of works played or produced in Smyrna for the Greek crowds can be recognized as vast, from classical works to prose theater. It is also worth mentioning the establishment of halls to accommodate theatrical works to be played upon, like the Euterpe Theater or the Sporting club. Unlike today, the sports-associated activities were considered as highly cultural aspects of civilization. The Greeks of Smyrna boast the fact of their occupation with sports. The creation of the first Greek sport teams, had its roots in Smyrna like Apollo of Smyrna and Panionios (Stamatopoulou, 2011).

As far as religion is concerned, as already mentioned, the orthodox faith was tied to the Greek ethnic group and the Greek community in Smyrna could not grow and flourish without a strong social pillar like the church. The whole of the Greek quarter had a great number of orthodox religious establishments spread around. Just before the great fire of 1922 that incinerated half the city and the whole of the Greek quarters, 22 churches were in existence and in operating status. The most notable, and one of the oldest was Agia Photeini, a cathedral situated close to the city center south of Greek neighborhood Schoinadika. It was built in 1623 in the place where Agia Paraskevi was standing, and was repaired a multitude of times from the damage it had suffered through the years. Unfor- tunately this magnificent Cathedral was lost in the great fire. Contrary to the fate of Agia Photeini, churches that were not in the heart of the Greek part of the town were spared, like Agios Voukolos and Agios Ioannis o Theologos. Both Churches stand to this day, though not functioning (Simes, 2011).

4.4 Present of the region

Smyrna up to this date is visited by a lot of Greek visitors, both as tourists and for business purposes. There is a port connection with the nearby island of Chios, and due to bilateral agreements between Greece and Turkey no passports are required to travel from Greece to Turkey though the EU type of identification card is mandatory (Consulate of Turkey, 2004). The flow of the Greek tourists is constant and rising and as a result the tourism industry there has been modified to better accommodate the needs of the Greek tourists. A lot of tourist operators from Greece and from Turkey are organizing daily excur- sions for the Greeks to visit Smyrna which is so important for the Greek identity and heritage. In a sense, a lot of Greeks describe the visit in Smyrna as a pilgrimage, a religious-like experience, a very emotional status. It should be noted that the usual tours that are offered include all the important landmarks of the city that do not possess the same gravity for the Greek tourist, like Ottoman monuments, but that does not necessarily lowers the pilgrimage character of the visit for a Greek tourist. On the other hand, all elements of ottoman origin like mosques and Bazaars could be attributed with the Oriental character of Smyrna. As far as orientalism is perceived, the westerners of the 19th century tended to characterize as oriental the striking visual differences in the urban landscape, like the co- existence of the mechanical tram of western origin and the camels or donkeys moving merchandise and people side by side. On the social life area, the citizens of Smyrna used to show strong character by adopting part of trends that the west had to offer, while re- jecting others, like preferring the habits of smoking and drinking coffee in the customary fez and turbans. The oriental character of the city can be said to be exaggerated due to the division between social groups and the classes of its citizens. This division was a growing situation during the 19th century, reaching its apogee in the years prior to the great fire. On the same time while the previous mix highlights the attributes of each social group, the creation of quarters, like Pounta, with mixed nationalities has exactly the opposite relation, a situation, however that was probably limited. For the Greek orthodox citizens of Smyrna, the oriental character of the city had probably more of a social and economic nature, that one of nationality or religion. The same principle could be applied to the Mod- ern Greek who probably has a different view to what orientalism is, always in relevance to what orientalism is for a citizen of France or the United Kingdom. The Greek and Levantine sector on the other hand could be exemplified as characteristics of the Western character of Smyrna mirroring the oriental (Smyrneli, 2006). The result of the events in the area that followed the Greek occupation, can be said that makes the conversation null and void. The Greek and Levantine sector were devastated by the great fire of 1922, so the remains of the Greek presence in the city are very limited. A few houses and alleys, the central female boarding school of Smyrna and the national bank of Greece are all that remains from the vibrant Greek community. The Greek tourist, though, has the opportunity to link the location of the city to the collective memory that has been passed on from generation to generation. In such a way, it is possible to experience even for a little an imagined past that probably bears small, or no resemblance to the real past. The Greek visitor also would have to detach himself from the present completely, due to the present condition of the city (Galani-Moutafi, 2000). The Turkish society there is not recognized as familiar or as “us”, but as the evil other, as the collective ethnic memory dictates. In the case of the Greek visitor, the self is a projection of all the pride he has for his forefathers, of the historical value he gives to that, and how much different is the other, who at times can be placed as the opposite of him, portraying him as the “bad other”.

4.5 Future of the region

As far as the future is concerned, there are no signs of changes to be seen in the foreseeable future. It is very possible that Greeks will continue to visit Smyrna, with the experience becoming less and less emotional, until its uniqueness is lost. After all, the national narrative following the Greek expulsion from the city and the atrocities that were committed is still very recent and very much alive in the memories of both survivors and their descendants. The Greek quarter’s remnants could come under the care of the authorities in order to be utilized as cultural parks like this was the case of Saint Voukolos, a church that had been ruined, which was restored in 2011 and now is used as a cultural park. Of course if the authorities in Smyrna would like to invest in religious tourism, the current infrastructure to attract Greek pilgrims is close to non-existent. Only tour operators try hard enough to keep the industry from disintegrating. On the other side, if the Turkish authorities decide to invest in making Smyrna a religious destination the Greek element will be given a certain attention, but the market that represents Greece can be considered as small. The effort would have to revolve around all of the major religions and to target certain social classes.

5 EPHESUS

5.1 Past of the site

The ancient city of Ephesus though almost 75 km away from the city of Izmir, can be considered as an archaeological site of great interest and part of Izmir itself. Izmir and Ephesus fates were tied together through time.

Its founding is placed around the 10th century B.C when Greeks from the mainland colonized the area. The myth tells the tale of Androklos, son of the legendary king of Ath- ens Kodros, was the original founder of the city. The leadership of the city was kings and later a sort of an oligarchy, until the invasion of the Cimmerians in the 7th century B.C After the Cimmerian invasion, Ephesus followed a tyrant-like political system, a system that includes tensions between those with the power and those who want to acquire that power. Just like the rest of Ionia, Lydians and Persians were the conquerors of the area until the time of Alexander the Great, with the interruption of the Delian league and of the Spartan supremacy. After Alexander, his general Lysimachus took over, and moved the city on the local mountain slopes. He made sure that the city would grow by succeeding to make the residents of Kolophon and Lebedos to move to Ephesus. When the Seleucids retreated from the area, the kings of Pergamum took over and ruled over the area up until the Ro- mans annexed the region. The city prospered during the 2nd and the 3rd century A.D both culturally and economically. Changes during the reign of emperor Justinian heralded a new era for Ephesus. Until the 6th century A.D, the city reached its Zenith. Christian monuments started to give different colors to the template of Ephesus. The years leading to the Turk- ish invasions and the capture of Ephesus, did not see any dramatic change for the city po- litically and culturally. Under the Seljuk and the Ottoman rule, the city gradually declined and sunk into obscurity (Akurgal, 1970).

There are structures from the antiquity in the area of ancient Ephesus of immeas- urable beauty and importance. The whole of the site is very well preserved giving to the visitor a chance to come very close to the real ancient Ephesus, tasting the essence of excellent monuments.

One such example is the Vedius gymnasium, one of the biggest and best preserved structures of the city. The gymnasium dedicated to both Artemis and the Emperor. It was built by a rich Ephesian called Vedius near the middle of the 2nd century A.D. and it was a luxurious structure equipped with hot and cold baths along with the fighting stage. Apart from Vedius gymnasium, Ephesus had many more baths and sport facilities. The Harbor baths, the Varius, the scholastikia baths, and the byzantine baths along with the theater, the gymnasium and the east gymnasium points depict very colorfully how the Roman society habits had spread and mixed with the Greek culture and the Christian traditions. The largest monument in Ephesus was the theater. The building is enormous and in a very good shape. Built in the Hellenistic age, it was enlarged under the rule of the Romans. The capacity reached the 24.000 people. The number is quite impressive if the population of the city is taken into account. The theater was an important aspect of the Greek culture that was transplanted into the Roman society as well. The changes that the Romans did to the building, reflects the differences in the approach of the theatrical challenge. The most recognized ruins in Ephesus though, are the Celsus Library. The consul Aquila in110 A.D funded the project of constructing the library that was devoted to his father, Celsus. Un- fortunately the library was burned down during a fire before the year 400 A.D. The still standing façade of the library of the city is a very impressive structure that once housed a great number of books. After the fire, the location in front of the library was converted to a pool. The façade of the library is very well preserved and maybe that is the reason why this archaeological site is represented as a whole, by the Celsus library. Another important structure is the agora of the Ephesus. The beating heart of the city for many years and especially during the prosperous ages that Ephesus went through was firstly built in the Hel- lenistic age. During the Roman times, the agora changed with the additions of buildings and probably with a restoration project in the reign of Emperor Caracalla. Inscriptions found in the agora give information regarding an autonomous state of the city under the Roman rule (Akurgal, 1970).

The state buildings of the city appear to be very interesting in beauty and usage as well. In this category the state agora, the prytaneion and the odeion, are the main buildings of interest. All these three were places where official business would be conducted, from judicial to political. The functioning organs of the city as an organism would be housed in these buildings. As supporting evidence to this, one may use the close proximity of each one to the other, and the fact that, even under emperors, the Greek city state mechanisms were still in action (Akurgal, 1970).

The sightseeing of archeological sites like Ephesus has been part of mass tourism since it first begun in the early 1960ies. The awe inspiring ruins of the western civilizations do have a romantic impact, especially upon the westerners themselves. This romantic impact has its roots to the travelers of the 18th and 19th century who visited the cradle of the west, as they named it. Although Ephesus is mainly a Greek city it became important only after the Roman Empire had incorporated it. The most important cultural aspects of the city are Roman and of Christian nature. In that way, the religious buildings found in Ephe- sus gain a differentiated gravity to that of mainly cultural interest. The presence of important religious structures in the city makes Ephesus ideal for religious tourism. The presence of St Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his disciple John for many years, makes Ephesus very important for Christians. The Ayasoluk hill, a hill with the fort that protected the city, stands a few meters from the ancient city. The Ayasoluk hill hides even more treasures. Another monument from the Christian period is the St John’s Church, built under the reign of emperor Justinian. This cross-shaped temple took the place of a wooden temple that used to lie in the same position. St John’s grave was located under the temple, making Ephesus one of the most important pilgrimages of the Christian world in the Middle Ages. It was said that the dust that was coming out from the bowels of the building, would have healing properties. The other immensely important building for the Christians in Ephesus would be the Church of Virgin Mary. The Church was built sometime between 100A.D and 150A.D, not as an official religious establishment, but as a structure used for commercial use. In the next two centuries the building was gradually converted to a church. The mark of Christian history was left upon the building itself when it hosted the 3rd Ecumenical Council (431 A.D) which verified that Jesus was the son of Virgin Mary and the son of God. The house of the Virgin Mary should also be noted, even though it has not been found, as it is speculated position is accepted, by the blessings of the Pope himself. The position where the house is believed to have been has become a very important location for religious tourism. The most important Islamic monument is the Isa Bey mosque, also situated in Ayasoluk hill. It was built in 1375 A.D by the Aydin family that was ruling the region before the Timurid invasion. Its most important feature is the fact that it is the oldest example of a Turkish mosque with a courtyard (Akurgal, 1970).

5.2 Present of the site

The ancient city of Ephesus like all archaeological sites possesses an aspect that most of the tourists are pursue to experience, i.e. authenticity. The monuments may be in a state that can only be characterized as ruins, but these are the same buildings used by the people living there many centuries ago. That element alone is making such locations, desirable tourist destinations. According to Trilling (1972) this kind of authenticity can be considered objective, since the major object tied to the experience, as already discussed, is as authentic as it can be, thus enhancing the experience (Wang, 1999). Of course this means that the objective authenticity theory is accepted without the expression of any objections or doubts. Social scientists like MacCanell (1973) could argue that still the authenticity of the object is not the same for all tourists and this means that the tourist experience would be different according to beliefs and perceptions that each tourist hold for the specific monument. This theory pushes towards a symbolic authenticity and not a universal one. It seems impossible that different perceptions could arise from the same object in the case of ancient ruins, since the age and origin of the ruins could not be more than one. In the postmodernism theory however, even the importance of the authenticity of an experience is challenged, due to the globalized fast-paced world that seems to be converging at some point, thus making any boundaries between cultural elements to blur (Wang, 1999).

A third approach would be the existential one. This theory presupposes that the tourist experience is triggered by the activity of acting as a tourist. From the moment of separation of the tourist from his everyday reality and the start of the limenality condition, the existential authenticity comes into being. This means that the activity of being the tourist activates the experience into becoming authentic, no matter whether an object is authentic or not. This kind of authenticity in the tourist experience is considered to be very convincing, especially if the tie to powerful emotional situations, like Nostalgia and Romance, are taken into consideration (Wang, 1999).

5.3 Future of the site

The tourism industry in Ephesus is tied to the growth perspectives of tourism in the region on Izmir in a broad sense. The archeological excavations still go on, revealing more cultural treasures to be unearthed. However on the mass scale, the great majority of the tourists choose this area for vacations attracted by the three S, sea, sun, and sand. Since most of the money inflow comes from this part of the tourist market, it makes sense that the Turk- ish authorities pay more attention to offer this kind of an experience in prices that can an- tagonize the tourism rivals of other countries in eastern Mediterranean. On the other hand, if someone would access the website of the Turkish ministry of culture and tourism, he would notice that the site is trying to promote the cultural heritage of the country by placing in the site information placards or files in order to instigate potential visitors for more. A good example are video files showing part of museums and monuments or the cultural routes, a trekking route colored by the historical and religious figure of St Paul. All these steps point out that the Turkish authorities have decided to try and exploit the cultural treasures of the Izmir area in order to increase the output of their tourism industry.

6 ARTEMISION

6.1 Past of the temple

The temple of Artemis in Ephesus is a case of a building that has been presented and commented. One of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, the status of the temple itself should be enough to place it apart from the rest of the city of Ephesus. The construction of the temple begun in the 6th century B.C i.e. the Ionians reached their Zenith, The position selected was exactly the same position where the temple to Kybele, the goddess of fertility, had been built by the Hittites who lived in the area up to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. What is fascinating is the fact that the temple was built completely out of marble, and it was the biggest temple ever built in the Greek world. Another interesting fact is that the size and grandeur of the temple was the outcome of rivalry with Samos, a neighboring city state that was building a magnificent temple at the same period. Two famous architects are recorded that they were responsible for the construction of the temple of Artemis, namely, Chersiphron of knossos and his son, Metagenes (Akurgal, 1970). They were both considered to be eminent architects of high expertise with knowledge of Egyptian, Hittite and Assyrian art and sculpture. Also the architect of the temple in Samos, Theodoros, was summoned in order to use his expertise in the foundation of the temple on a swampy soil, similar to that in Samos. The similarities with the temple in Samos may not stop to the foundations, but it may extent to other architectural elements, however, this allegation is hardly supported by solid evidence. The temple had a double row of columns, giving the impression that it is longer than its actual length. The great number of columns, 127, to be precise, could be a design element taken from the Egyptian and Urartian designs that favored the pluralism of columns. The column density would also create a forest like impression, imitating the actual kingdom of the Goddess Nature itself. The resemblance between the Artemis temple and the Samian temple samples is of great importance, but what are even more important are new features that become prominent in the architectural field. One such development was the carving of reliefs on the base of the columns, a technique that probably has its roots in the architecture of the earlier Ana- tolian civilizations. The other innovation was the technique used on the volutes of the temple, though there are no surviving parts allowing us to go into more details. The fact that no traces of the roof of the temple had been found, points out to the use of a short lived material like wood for the construction of the roof. In 356 B.C, a man called Herostra- tus, the year Alexander the Great was born, searching for immortality for his name, set the temple on fire. The temple was destroyed completely. The rebuilding of the temple started after Alexander the Great passed through the region during the Persian expedition. The plans for the new temple tried to follow the original ones with certain innovations and changes that had to be expected. One major difference is the podium the temple was built on. This time, the podium is higher adding to both structural strength and improving the overall aesthetic result. Also the presence of opisthodomos in the rear of the building, is a new architectural element in the Ionian technique that has been included in the New Ar- temision. The shorter columns and the new reliefs on the base of the columns are following the original archaic style, but the attic art is prominent in the reliefs. The temple was completed in the first half of the 3rd century B.C. The testimonies reaching us from that period, present the temple as the most impressive of the seven wonders of the ancient world (Akurgal, 1970). Some testimonies come from contemporaries of the monument like Antipater of Sidon and Philo of Byzantium. The more remarkable comments, however, of both the archaic and the later temple were made by Herodotus, the father of history, by Strabo and by Diodoro of Sicily.

6.2 Present of the temple

In present time the temple unfortunately has been reduced to ruins. There are very few surviving parts of the temple and most are under the care of either the British museum of London and in the Museum of Ephesus in modern day Selcuk. On the original site, only the platform or krepida and a few parts of the columns are still in position showing that the temple was devastated through the years both by natural disasters and by in- vaders. Still a building branded as wonder of the world, surely is worth of visiting up to this day and the further excavation of the monument may reveal more hidden treasures. One such treasure is the statue of the many-breasted Artemis which was removed during the fire that destroyed the temple and is currently in display in the Selcuk museum. The roman copies of the statue found in many places add gravity to the claim that this specific statue was the one that was housed in the temple. The museum itself has been renovated and though many artifacts from Ephesus and Artemision have been moved to the Izmir Ar- chaeological museum, it is still worth visiting. Regarding the Artemision, there is a part of the museum that is dedicated exclusively to the finds from the Artemision temple (Ephe- sus museum, n.d).

6.3 Future of the temple

The future of the temple site does not promise any considerable changes in the following years, at least for the moment. There are many different tours offered in Ephesus arranged to cover as much of the city as possible, but there are also more specialized tours mainly for the temple of Artemis. The existence of such specialized tours probably points out that there is a sizeable group of people that visit Ephesus who are willing to pay for, expecting to learn a lot about Artemision and leave the site rather disappointed. There is no evidence of a certain policy regarding the site. The title “wonder of the ancient world” is something that, on its own, adds more gravity to the importance of the whole archaeological site of Ephesus and could potentially attract large groups of people to visit the city just for the temple of Artemis. Again it should be pointed out that the ruins of the ancient world of the Greeks have an intense effect on most westerners, as they recognize on them the cradle of their civilization as well. Of course this presupposes the fact that the tourist is looking for the authentic ancient wonder and has already constructed in his mind what authentic is in the case of this specific temple. Still this idea could attract people to visit the site. The tourism authorities in Turkey could capitalize on the fact that Artemision was one of the wonders of the ancient world and use images and a convincing narrative to attract more people to the site. By exploiting the tourist gaze it could be possible to increase the profitability of tourism industry in the area attracting new investments. In addition to the production of wealth, the state will benefit an increase in the revenue and may invest in the improvement of the infrastructure and of the standards of the quality of life both for local people and for visitors (Bajc, 2011).

7. IZMIR MUSEUMS

Izmir is a vibrant metropolis with many museums spread across the city. The city actually tries to offer as many different cultural experiences as the variety in thematology of its museums. As far as archaeology is concerned, the city is lucky to have not one, but 2 different museums. The first one which is older and bigger is currently located in the Ko- nak district of the city. The museum has a great history, having been housed in many different places, including the ayavukla church at the very early stages in the decade of 1920. The museum has been at its current position from 1984. It houses artifacts from the ancient city of Smyrna along with items from the excavations in all the surrounding areas like Pergamum, Ephesus Foca, Klazomenes, Teos, Mausoleum Belevi, Miletus and more. Prominent artifacts of the museum are an archaic statue of a woman missing the head, of Samian technique, dating back to 540 B.C, the portrait statues of roman figures of that era and other equally important artifacts (Akurgal, 1970). The other museum that covers part of the same timeline in Izmir is the museum of history and art, located in the Kulturpark. This museum is dedicated almost solely on the finds from excavations in Izmir. The museum exhibits mainly small works of art, made of stone ceramic and valuable materials like gold and silver. There are other types of museums in the city that try to cover different time periods or aspects of the city. Such one would be the ethnographical museum. The museum is right next to the archaeological museum in Konak district. The exhibition contains cultural everyday objects that the Ottoman society of the 19th century used. That col- lection could surely become a pole for attracting scientists in the region, especially those with an interest in the ethnography of the region. Other experiences may include the most recent history of the city like the Ataturk museum, a museum dedicated to the father of the Turkish republic. It is housed in the Alsancak district in a house that has served as Ataturk’s house, the Turkish army’s headquarters during the Greco-Turkish war, and as a hotel as well. This type of museum obviously is targeting rather internal, than external tourism as it would possess little interest to the foreigner that is not studying such a specialized theme. There are also museums devoted on art, for example the Selcuk Yasar museum of arts. The museum is located in Alsancak as well. Selcuk Yasar is an important re- sourceful figurehead of the Izmir area with contribution in industry, journalism, and trade, along with being a patron of the arts and letters, has contributed in creating a gallery of arts. The museum houses mainly paintings by Turkish artists and of himself (Yasar Holding, 2007).This type of museum has a different, though probably small target group mainly interested in modern art. There are even more specialized museums in Izmir, like the rail- road museum located in the Alsancak train station, that is trying to capture the evolution of the railroads in the country or the museum of commercial history a museum that is trying to unveil the history of trade in the region, a profession present in Izmir since ancient times. These museums surely are there to serve limited numbers of people interested in these objects and not in a scale of mass tourism. They also seem to possess cultural aspects of the city but still, even if they are accepted as an authentic experience of its re- spective field, the potential number of people that can be attracted by such museums probably too small.

In the concept of using the museums as part of mass tourism, developed through two different opinions on viewing the items of a museum. The first theory considers an experience as authentic only if it can help immersion in the history of a place. The second theory considers the viewing of items in a museum fixed in the way it is perceived, ulti- mately losing any trace of its authenticity (Wang, 1999). In the case the detachment of the daily element for the tourist that is experiencing a museum, is taken into account the experience stops being object-centered but it becomes subject-centered and gains a sense of authenticity for the tourist (Wang, Ning, 1999). On the other hand, it should be noted that the term authenticity according to Trilling (1972) stems from the process expert do in order to identify whether an object is what it appears to be (determination if the time of construction is identical to the age which is claimed to be, purpose of the item) making the exhibits that are in display in the museums of Izmir as authentic as they can be. The exhibits would not be displayed if they lacked in authenticity. That fact on its own should increase visitors in museums. Of course there is the issue of how an object is identified as authentic and since there are many different opinions of interpreting the results amongst the experts, it is very difficult to have a conclusive answer in the immediate future (Cohen, 1988). On the light of this discussion about authenticity, a possible answer that emerges is that the documentation of the authenticity of the objects may have an overall effect on the tourist experience, but as it seems, its effect is not at a desired level that could help drastically the tourism industry in Izmir.

8. KONAK SQUARE

Konak square is the most famous and busiest square of the city of Izmir. The kemeralti Bazaar and the konak square are the historical center of the city of Izmir. The name Konak derives from the Turkish word that stands for mansion, a big house of an eminent family, with the roots coming from the Ottoman Empire. The governors’ building is one of the main buildings in the square. Other equally important structures in the square are the City Hall of the municipality of Izmir, the Yali Mosque and the Izmir’s clock tower. The clock tower of Izmir is a symbol of the city with a rich history. The tower was built in 1901 by Raymond Pere as a present from the German Kaiser Wilhelm to honor the 25th anniversary reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. It should be noted that this gift was a move of diplomacy from the German state, which was trying to create cordial relationship with the Ottoman Empire in the imperialism context. The tower is 25 meters tall as a symbolism for the 25 years on the throne of Abdul Hamid II. The exceptional artistic result of the building is something Raymond Pere should be praised for. The role of a clock tower in an Islamic state, at first had the religious purpose of keeping track of time between the prayers. In that sense the invention of time did not hasten or slowed down social activities like it did in Western Europe (Uluengin, 2010). By the time the clock tower of Izmir was constructed, however, the state had abolished the Islamic time in order to modernize, something that the society found very difficult to accept. The clock towers during the reign of Abdul Ha- mid II were built as a symbol of his authority and his attempt to modernize violently the Ottoman society, with the catastrophic results it held for the empire. The same principle was used by the Republican authorities that emerged with the birth of the Turkish Repub- lic. An interesting misconception to the Turkish society was that, in many cases, the clock towers would sound like Christian bells thus becoming a disruptive influence to the society and the authorities. The clock tower of Izmir had nothing to do with a Christian attempt to gain space (Uluengin, 2010).

An important cultural center lies to the south of Konak square, courtesy of the Uni- versity of Ege. The city opera house along with the music academy and the museum of modern art create a cultural complex, a producer of culture not necessarily arranged to fit the needs of both local and cultural tourists. The presence of most of the museums of the city adds to the cultural mix of the area. The area is trying to balance between the historical structures of the area and the modern factor. Of course at a quick glance the modern elements are prevailing; thus the historical buildings are lost in the urban landscape. The clock tower, the mosque and the Ataturk museum, do not achieve to add a traditional cultural core to the site. Unlike the Kemeralti bazaar on the east of the square, the traditional historical elements diminish rather rapidly. Of course it is only natural for a modern city like Izmir to keep up with the times and move forward. If the institutions that are housed in the area are taken into consideration, it is perfectly normal to see structures that have to agree with the nature of the institutions themselves. Even if the konak square area does not help the tourist in the process of separation from his reality, a few looks at the clock tower (or Saat kulesi, as the locals call it) might help the visitor to sink more in the tourist experience (Burns, 2004).

As far as the international tourism is concerned, the arrival of non-Turkish nationalities in Izmir during the autumn and winter do not justify optimism for a cultural tourism wave. The region’s numbers in tourism may be rising, but it is impossible to ascertain whether the group of people that arrive in Izmir as cultural tourists is rising or declining, unless the authorities will start keeping record through contacts with all the travel agencies. The only thing that is for sure is the fact that the authorities of Izmir have been trying hard to promote the protection of cultural heritage all around the city, a policy that, on its own, would be bound to assist in bringing people for cultural and religious tourism.

9. JEWISH MONUMENTS: ELEVATOR - SYNAGOGUES

The elevator of Izmir is one of the most famous monuments of the city. A privately funded centenarian creation (1907) by the wealthy businessman Nesim Bayraklioglu, of Jewish origin, the elevator was constructed in order to facilitate access to the area of Halirıfatpaşa where the Jewish Synagogue was. The main propellant behind its function was the use of water pumps in order to move it. Of course the elevator was not only available for the Jews. Anyone who would like to make use of it, was waiting along with other people until the number of ten passengers at least was reached. Then the elevator started its slow ascent or descent. On the other hand, the elevator was constructed in the Jewish quarters of the city so the usual travellers were Jewish. The elevator is a reminiscence of an era of Cosmopolitanism of the city. The “infidel Smyrna” with the non-Muslim majority, has its mysterious effect on modern day tourists in the quest for the authentic. Of course it is difficult to regard the elevator of today as something authentic since the moment it became available for the public again, it was restored in order to assist the mass tourism industry. The elevator was offered to the municipality of Izmir in 1983. The elevator was modernized and the whole premises entered a restoration project in 1985 in order to serve as a cultural heritage monument and a tourist attraction. The restoration lasted until 1992. To add to the cultural background of the monument, the house of the famous figure of the Jewish society in Izmir and Turkey, Dario Moreno, was located at the base of the elevator. It is only natural that tourists visit the tower due to the breathtaking view it offers. The establishment of restaurants and of cafés is a good addition for such well visited places. The elevator tower possesses all the elements that could make the site a destination that could handle massive tourist flows. Like the Konak square, it also balances between the modern and the traditional with the modern touch being a little more intense. It might possess elements that are in accordance with the quest for the authentic, like the historical background of the tower and the early 20th century elevator, but modernity has made its presence very vividly. The café and restaurant at the top can hardly be identified as cultural elements of the tower. Their existence, hawever, can be only characterized as helpful for the tourist that has been on the move all day and wishes to relax with a drink or some food, while looking at an unbelievable view. The tower can make the tourist experience unique in a more common fashion, a fashion, though, that every tourist in the industry can identify with. After all not every quest for the authentic, must coincide with an escape from dull everyday activities.

The city contains also a number of synagogues, a testimony of the thriving Jewish community that was formed, mainly, from the flows of Jewish populations that were expelled from Spain in the last decade of the 15th century in the final stage of the Spanish Reqoncquista. A lot of these Sephardic Jews chose Smyrna to relocate and brought their traditions and religion to the region. The religious establishments built by these deportees at their apogee reached the number 34, but today only 8 survive. Most of them are located in the trade center of today’s Izmir. Their architectural designs followed the Spanish style of construction. The majority of the Synagogues were built during the 18th and 19th century (Izmir Jewish Heritage, 2013).

Izmir is a city that is attracting a large number of religious tourists of Jewish origin. The Turkish authorities acknowledging this fact have decided to start restoration efforts on all the monuments of Jewish heritage. Already from the 8 surviving synagogues, six of them have achieved an active status. The rest are under projects to restore them but for now remain in a nonfunctional state. This move on behalf of the Turkish republic has not passed unnoticed by the Israeli state and in 2002 over quarter million Israelis visited Tur- key. These promising data point towards the creation of a potential religious tourism flow and is up to the Turkish side to nurture this flow (Cohen-Ioannides & Ioannides, 2005).

10. CONCLUSIONS

10.1 Tourism and cultural tourism

The tourism industry is one of the most important economic activities worldwide, and its growth along in the last fifty years is unlike any other economic activity. What is even more impressive is the fact that, though the majority of tourists worldwide are from the western world, the tourism industry has affected the whole world in multiple levels. A fact worth mentioning is the rise in numbers of active tourists from China, a market so big that could affect the whole of the industry. Communities that have become tourist destinations have been affected heavily, with the destination usually transforming into a new settlement. The social life of these destinations is usually transformed as well, as the biggest part of the human activities revolves around the activities of tourism. The economy of the tourist destination is affected as well, usually to a great extent. A good example is how the fishing communities that are located by the sea, when they become tourist destinations, in a rather short amount of time they become service driven, while fishing as an economic activity becomes marginalized or part of the tourist industry as well.

As far as cultural tourism is concerned as already stated, it is a relatively new branch of tourism in a growing condition. Its major advantage over mass tourism is the fact that weather does not define the activity. Unlike the vacations by the sea that is summer oriented, the cultural tourism branch has the potential to go on through all of the seasons in a year and is not easily affected. This could result in the emerging of a sustainable economic activity with non-stop flow of people throughout the whole year creating jobs and help economies grow. According to basic economic models, this constant flow of money and people can result into the stability and steady growth of a local economy with the people reaping the positive results.

10.2 Izmir as a cultural and religious destination

The question of whether Izmir is a significant cultural and religious destination, at first sight seems a very easy one. The city of Izmir has a very rich history with many civilizations coexisting and succeeding each other for a large period of time. Such an attractive historical background, should on its own be enough for tourists with interest in history and therefore in the culture that was produced in the region to amass. In the case of Izmir though, the answer is far more complex than that. The current use of the historical monuments and whether they attract tourists or not, is the way that this paper used to start the attempt and identify the motives of the cultural tourist. After the initial attempt to identify what cultural tourism is and who is the cultural tourist is, some of the most important landmarks and historical sites of the city where employed to verify whether the cultural tourists needs are met by the cultural contribution of each monument or not. In the ever-changing modern world, the cultural contribution that historical monuments offer to the urban landscape of Izmir, are of great importance. The modern landscape of multi-storey buildings and busy streets is interrupted by the presence of constructions dating from hundreds to, literally, thousands of years back.

The historical sites that have already been mentioned currently have an impact on cultural tourists and most of them operate as tourist attractions. The Kemeralti Bazaar is the typical Ottoman bazaar that a cultural tourist would expect to meet in an oriental city. The previous decades may have not been very kind to the hundreds of years old complex with the cultural elements of the structures being sidelined in favor of the new neon signs and modern additions. The Bazaar came very close of becoming a location of no particular interest other than its function as a trade hub. The deteriorating process has been gradually reversed with the restoration and preservation projects still in effect in the area. In the religious tourism field, the hisar mosque points out as the most interesting religious establishment, both spiritually and historically. The presence of only mosques in the area, limits the religious tourists to only Muslims. Revitalizing the area and giving the bazaar back some of its original cultural aspects. In this state, and under the logical assumption that the preservation projects will continue to be active, the bazaar can become a reason of great importance among others, for a cultural tourist to visit Izmir.

The Izmir ancient agora is an archaeological site that as most well preserved sites, on its own is very much capable of attracting cultural tourists. It can be characterized as the monument of Izmir that is very difficult not to get a glimpse of, as it is situated very close to the historical center of the city. The remains of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations have always been a major attraction of culture enthusiasts all over the world. Any cultural tourist visiting the city, would surely be motivated to visit the place. It is definitely a site that, when the excavation efforts will come to an end, will be one of the corner- stones of the cultural tourism sights in the city. The current condition with the fences all around the site and the limited access due to excavation works in progress, is surely a hin- dering factor but it is a temporary situation that is bound to change. The authorities intent to give prominence to the site points towards this direction. At any rate the Izmir ancient agora is major reason for a cultural tourist to visit the city.

The remains of the Greek presence in the city before the destruction of the city, along with the Armenian, Jewish, and Catholic landmarks in the city, have been pointed out to be remarkable cultural tourist attraction as well. The Greek community of Izmir was a very vibrant and culturally singled out, especially during the last decades of the 19th century and the early 20th century. The cultivation of knowledge through the establishment of schools, and the flourish of arts through theater and music, led to a cultural fermentation that produced a unique culture in the region, different from the culture developed in mainland Greece. The city’s importance as already mentioned, became part of the national narrative of the official Greek history, along with the Polis (Istanbul). Also a lot of the traditions of the Greeks that were expelled from Izmir, were transplanted in the Greek mainland. Under this prism it is not surprising that the city has a constant flow of Greek tourists. The cultural tourists with any interest in the remains of the Greek presence in the city of Izmir are mostly of descendants of Greek refugees from Ionia and by nature their number is quite limited. A cultural interest could rise in the remains of the Greek- Orthodox establishments in the city in a religious-tourism fashion, but religious tourism in the city is also very limited. After all, most of the Greek Orthodox churches did not survive the great fire. Others that have survived have become cultural centers, automatically losing the religious building status. Another aspect of an interest in the Greek remains in the city would be root-tourism, an ethnic tourism approach, where people with origins from the city of Izmir, like Greeks, Armenians, and Israelis, visit the city of their forefathers. This approach does seem to hold some merit, but the numbers of visitors belonging to this group that could be added to the main stream as cultural tourists does not give solid results. The answer to the question whether the Greek quarters serve as an attractive cultural “bait” seem to have a positive answer only by cultural tourists of Greek origin while they are hardly interesting for other western cultural tourists.

The ancient city of Ephesus, a huge archaeological site, is a major landmark in the region of Izmir. This ancient Greek colony followed tightly the fate of Smyrna, as the same political formations usually controlled both cities. The city is now a vast archaeological site that covers a great distance, and takes a lot of time just to see the basic and most beautiful of its unique structures. As both Romans and Greeks had possession of the city, the most basic structures that both cultures used to include in a settlement, are present in Ephesus. The enormous ancient theater, the multiple Gymnasiums, the renowned Celsus library, the forum along with temples and governmental buildings, are some of the structures that a wanderer in Ephesus would come across. Of course, one of the most important structures that unfortunately lie in ruins is the temple of Artemis of Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The cultural mix becomes complete with the later addition of Christian and Muslim structures in the city. The existence of religious structures in the city makes it a suitable location for religious tourism to flourish as well. The confirmed presence of mother Mary in the city can even give the location a pilgrimage status. Of course the Turkish authorities have tried to take advantage of the religious background of the city with mixed results so far. The city stands out, as a “must-see” attraction of great importance for the cultural tourist. This romantic view that stems from the first travellers that walked by the ancient structures during the age of enlightenment, has a great impact on westerners that hold in high regard the western civilization and its roots. Of course, any site of such historical background tends to inspire admiration and awe to most tourists, cultural or not. The cultural tourist that is after the experience of visiting such a place, has the potential, the will and desire to become attached with the monuments and experience the site vividly. That attachment can help the experience feel so unique and original that it leads it to be memorable. The result would be that no matter the type of the cultural tourist, these types of monuments have the rare effect of the memorable experience to all tourists that visit it. With that in mind the ancient city of Ephesus is a place that attracts cultural tourism easily even without the need to project its beauty or even a romanticized image of the site.

The museums that are available in the region of Izmir are multiple, with a lot of different fields of science to cover. The diversity offered, ranges from the typical archaeological museum to more specialized fields like ethnography, arts, railroads and the figurehead of the modern Turkish state Kemal Ataturk. The sum of all the museums of Izmir, try to offer a great variety of cultural aspects for the tourist to come in contact with, but, at least for the moment, with little success. The different cultural aspects could attract more cultural tourists in the region but an experience with minimum interactivity cannot help the experience to be deep and moving even though the exhibits displayed are considered authentic. This passive experience usually does not have a positive effect in attracting more people to visit. As a result, the museums may be considered as perfect attractions for the cultural tourist, but the small amount of visitors probably proves wrong that statement. A systematic effort for interactive approach in the presentation of the exhibits of each museum may initiate the cultural tourist in the essence of the objects, instigating his imagina- tion and moving him.

The Konak square and the Izmir elevator are two locations relatively modern in comparison to the aforementioned locations around Izmir. Open spaces tend to be locations where people usually assemble. Konak square is not an exception to the rule. The square is probably a place visited by every tourist that steps his foot in the city. Even the cultural tourist that is searching for a different experience, unlike the mass tourist, will eventually visit the square. The main point of cultural interest in the square is the Izmir Clock tower, with its rich history and delightful art. The same, more or less, applies for the Izmir elevator. A necessity that became a practicality may not seem as a special point of cultural interest but it does have its distinct cultural aspect. If nothing else, the elevator tower can work as an entertaining watchtower for the tourist, to gaze upon a great part of the city. Both areas do not have the advantage of working as cultural tourist magnets but both have a supplementary role to the rest of the cultural attractions of the city of Izmir.

The Synagogues of Izmir, as already mentioned, are a major attraction for Religious tourists of Jewish origin and a flow of tourists have already been formed. The authorities of the city and of tourism in the region ought to pursue even better results considering the success in this specific group of cultural tourists.

10.3 Suggestions

The city of Izmir is filled with cultural treasures that can attract people interested in the city’s rich history and its cultural treasures. The monuments that attract people into visiting the city are present but the lack of cultural interactivity is not covered. The attempts of the authorities to create organized fairs seem to be on the correct direction but in a lot of occasions lack connection with the rest of the cultural aspects of the city. The modern growing city of Izmir also has a negative impact on the cultural image of the city. This of course is an issue that most modern cities with a rich and colorful past face and to be real- istic there is not much room to maneuver and overcome such a problem. This paper, as it is focused on the cultural and religious aspects of the city unfortunately cannot give prac- tical and concrete solutions to the problem. The only direction that could move towards is basic guidelines that could offer an approach on what could be done to help improve the situation.

1. The construction of further blocks of residential or commercial use should not go on without taking into account the historical heritage sites of the city. The projects for the preservation and conservation of the Kemeralti Bazaar area and the ancient agora are very promising but would have been to no avail if other construction projects can become more dangerous for these sites or even other ones of cultural significance. 2. A shifting of balance between mass tourism and the cultural tourism could be also of great importance. The summer resorts around and in the city currently are having the lion’s share of the tourist flows towards Izmir. The authorities are attempting to make the cultural aspects of the city to become more desirable, ergo to attract more cultural tourists. By supporting a cultural tourism industry, the authorities could help build a self-sustaining all season tourism industry that could offer many benefits to the local population of Izmir. 3. The archaeological sites could play a decisive role into the creation of a cultural tourism flow. The ancient ruins of the Izmir Agora, the velvet castle and other finds may truly offer the help much needed to improve tourism flows. Especially in the case of Ephesus, a great trade and religious center of the ancient world, a tourism campaign could be formed around it, to give a boost to the number of tourists that visit the site. 4. The religious tourism in the area of Izmir is very limited. A possible direction could be the designation of religious locations around the region. Also a gradual conversion of religious buildings to active religious establishments could add to the spirituality of the experience of the religious tourist. A tourist pilgrimage could really offer a lot to the cultural tourism of Izmir. As far as Christianity is concerned, the presence of the mother of Christ in Ephesus has not been capitalized to even a small potential. The ministry of tourism of the Turkish republic is attempting to build around that without actually doing something concrete. The Jewish presence in Izmir has not been highlighted to a great extend either. There were a great number of Synagogues in the city that could attract religious tourists from Israel. A similar case is the one of Thessaloniki, another city with a Jewish population that has been attracting a number of Jewish tourists in the recent years. 10.4 Room for further study

This paper attempted to make use of some of the theories on cultural tourism to in- terpret whether there are flows of cultural tourists in the city of Izmir. The project tar- geted specific tourist attractions and whether they could act as beacons to attract more people for cultural or religious purposes only. The attempt was made to get the qualities and not the quantities of the tourist flows in the region. A very interesting project would be to have quantitative data as well in order to get an even more close to the true image. Of course something like that in such a large scale would be impossible unless the case study is limited to a specific frequently visited monument. Of course this does not mean that the current paper has fully covered the whole spec- trum of the theories in cultural tourism or that the approach by the use of the specific monuments that are mentioned is the only way to get some of the results that have been stated above.

. 11. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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12. INDEX

Figure 1: Kemeralti Bazaar before and after the conservation project

Source: from Public Participated Urban Conservation Projects in Historical City Centers: İzmir Kemeraltı as a Study & Bursa Covered Bazaar and Han District as a Comparison.

Figure 2: Covered part of the Bazaar

Source: http://veryturkey.com/galleries/izmir/kemeralti-historic-bazaar,1

Figure 3: Hisar mosque as seen from the Bazaar

Source: http://veryturkey.com/destination-info/izmir/hisar-mosque-izmir

Figure 4: Ancient agora of Smyrna

Source: http://www.peraair.com/izmir-smyrna-kusadasi

Figure 5: View from inside the Stoa

Figure 6: Central female boarding school of Smyrna

Source: http://www.diakonima.gr/2011/08/19/73514/

Figure 7: National Bank of Greece Building

Source: http://www.diakonima.gr/2011/08/19/73514/

Figure 8: Celsus Library façade

Source: http://www.ephesustoursturkey.net/history-ephesus-ephesus-tours/

Figure 9: Ancient Theater of Ephesus

Source: http://www.roadrunnertravel.net/where-to-go/ephesus

Figure 10: Temple of Artemis Ruins

Source: http://www.aboutkusadasi.com/ephesus/artemis-temple.html

Figure 11: Artemis of Ephesus

Source: http://www.gateofturkey.com/section/en/136/3/cities-of-turkey-izmir-the-museums

Figure 12: Konak Square Clock tower

Source: http://www.ethnotraveler.com/2010/12/in-the-mood-for-izmir/

Figure 13: Elevator tower of Izmir

Source: http://www.serdardalgic.org/2011/12/getting-around-izmir-vol-2/

Figure 14: Karatas area Synagogue

Source: http://wowturkey.com/t.php?p=/tr25/ata_sinagog_2.jpg